BITKRAFT FORMS ADVISORY BOARD WITH EXECS FROM SNAPCHAT, AMAZON WEB SERVICES, ESL & SURVIOS

BITKRAFT Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on gaming, esports, and interactive media, today announced the formation of a strategic advisory board. 

The BITKRAFT Advisory Board (BAB) is a group of experienced games industry operating executives committed to driving strategic value across the firm’s portfolio companies. The new members will support the fund with dealflow and bring significant experience in key areas for the organization and its portfolio companies, including business development, entrepreneurship, scaling, and technology.

“Our new advisory board will make invaluable contributions to the Fund and its portfolio companies as they bring extensive entrepreneurial and technological experience as well as a wide network of relationships in the game industry,” commented Jens Hilgers, Founding General Partner of BITKRAFT Ventures. “We are excited to introduce a board that is actively driving change in the gaming ecosystem.” 

BITKRAFT Ventures’ new Advisory Board members are:

TQ Jefferson, Chief Product Officer of Survios. A former VP in Disney’s Games & Interactive Experiences group with over two decades in the games industry, TQ has exhibited a talent for steering franchise expansion for companies looking to leverage IP in the world of gaming including highly acclaimed TV series like “The Walking Dead” and iconic cross-media IP like the Marvel Universe and Pixar.  As Chief Product Officer for Survios, TQ Jefferson defines the product roadmap as the company transitions from startup to AAA developer, working alongside partners such as AMC and MGM.

Pany Haritatos,  Head of Games at Snapchat. Pany is a veteran game entrepreneur and executive with deep experience in game development, publishing, and platforms. Prior to Snapchat, Pany spent several years at the game publisher and platform Kongregate, where he helped grow the company through several important milestones including a sale to MTG in 2017, the acquisition of several game studios, and taking the lead as CEO in 2019. Before Kongregate, Pany was an executive at social gaming giant Zynga, leading teams on several of the company’s early franchises. 

Jen MacLean, Head of Worldwide Business Development, Small and Mid-sized Studios, Game Tech at Amazon Web Services. Jen leads worldwide business development for small and mid-sized game studios at Amazon Web Services, where she helps developers of all expertise levels leverage the power of cloud technologies to build great game experiences and scalable live operations. Jen started her career in game development as a playtester at Microprose, expanding her roles to direct product development, business development, and management teams at large and small companies. Most recently before joining AWS, Jen headed game development’s largest professional association, the International Game Developers Association, and the IGDA Foundation. 

Bernhard Mogk, SVP of Business Development at ESL. Bernhard Mogk leads worldwide business development for ESL, pioneering and innovating at the forefront of the esports industry for over a decade. During his tenure at ESL, Bernhard has been responsible for all group-wide B2B revenue, building and overseeing all commercial units, launching blue-chip companies into the esports sphere, and creating game-changing and award-winning global partnerships and joint ventures across industries. Bernhard started his career in digital marketing and sales at RTL Group. He then moved to the startup world where he held roles in commercial partnerships, strategy, and business development at various companies before founding Four Media Network, which was later acquired by ESL and MTG.

AYO.NEWS says:

With an investment team headed by Co-founder and former CEO of ESL, G2 Esports, and Bayes, Jens Hilgers; media, games and esports veteran Malte Barth; entrepreneur and investor Scott Rupp; and former VP and Co-head of the global gaming and esports practice at Goldman Sachs, Moritz Baier-Lentz, BITKRAFT wasn’t exactly lacking on expertise to start with. When the knowledge and talent of the new advisory board is thrown into the mix, the combination becomes next-level, and we’re sure it will result in some exciting moves. 

Staying with BITKRAFT, yesterday the firm was confirmed as one of the lead investors in casual game development studio BebopBee’s latest $2M funding round.